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UCSD Chinese Cinema Web-based Learning Center Film's Directors
b. 1903 d. 1974 Director, producer. One of the leading directors of the 1920s-40s, Bu Wancang began his apprenticeship in 1921 under an American cinematographer employed by China Film Company. He became a cameraman himself and worked first for Great China Film Company and then for Mingxing Film Company. He participated in the filming of The Sentiment (dir. Gu Kenfu, Chen Shouyin, 1924) and The New Family (dir. Ren Jinping, 1925), both box office successes. By 1926, Bu acted as producer and director at Mingxing, his directorial debut being Innocence (1926). After joining Lianhua Film Company in 1931, Bu firmly established his reputation by directing such successful titles as Love and Responsibility (1931), *Three Modern Women and Motherly Love (both 1933). When Shanghai became an 'isolated island' in 1937-41, Bu was involved in the production of costume dramas, all of which carry strong elements of nationalism. *Mulan Joins the Army (1939) was based on the life of a legendary patriotic girl who disguised herself as a boy so as to join the army fighting foreign invaders. Ironically, once the Japanese began their occupation of Shanghai's international settlements in 1941, Bu also directed two propaganda films for the Japanese: Universal Love (1942) and The Opium War (1943). Patriotic Chinese denounced these two as Japanese attempts to justify colonialist policies in China. Such controversy proved damaging to both Bu's post-war political and professional careers. Bu went to Hong Kong in 1948 to work for Yonghua Film Company. He left Yonghua two years later and formed his own Taishan film company. He made a few more films in Taiwan in the early 1960s before retiring.
b. 12 January 1906, Shanghai d. 15 July 1968 Director. Before the arrival of the Fifth Generation in the mid-1980s, Cai Chusheng was one of the best-known Chinese film directors in the West. His name features in several international publications on the history of cinema. Cai had a difficult childhood. He had to work as an apprentice in a bank and retail store when only twelve. He found a clerical job in a small film studio in Shanghai in 1927. Later, with *Zheng Zhengqiu's help, Cai was transferred to the prestigious Mingxing Film Company where he worked as Zheng's assistant. Cai's career as director took off in 1931 when he joined the newly formed Lianhua Film Company. His first films, Spring in the South and Pink Dream (both 1932), already give some indication of his undeniable talent. Cai's association with leftist film critics had a profound impact on his filmmaking. While his next film, Dawn Over the Metropolis (1933), focused on class conflict, social injustice and moral corruption, these themes were carried even further in *Song of the Fishermen (1934), which became the first Chinese film ever to win a major award at an international festival after receiving an honorary prize at the 1935 Moscow Film Festival. During the remainder of the 1930s, Cai continued this vein of social criticism with *New Woman (1934), Lost Children (1936) and The Life of Mr Wang (1937). Cai went to Hong Kong after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war in 1937, co-authored two screenplays on anti-Japanese themes and directed *Orphan Island Paradise (1939) and Bountless Future (1940). When Hong Hong fell to Japan in 1941, Cai went to Chongqing to join the Nationalist Central Film Studio. Then, soon after the Japanese surrender of 1945, Cai returned to Shanghai and formed Lianhua Film Society, later incorporated into Kunlun Film Company. In 1947, Cai and Zheng Junli co-directed Spring River Flows East, an immensely popular film that fully sold out its three-month engagement in Shanghai. In the meantime, Cai became further involved with underground Communists. He traveled to Hong Hong again in 1948, this time to escape the Nationalist police, and oversaw the production of Tears Over the Pearl River (dir. Wang Weiyi, 1949). After 1949, Cai served in the PRC government in numerous administrative capacities. He was appointed director of the committee responsible for artistic activities under the newly organized Film Bureau, of which he also served as deputy chief. He was also a member of the first, second and third National Congress, and President of the All China Filmmakers' Association. Cai became a CCP member in 1956. Regrettably, Cai's creative activities in the post-1949 period were limited to the production of only one film, The Waves of the Southern Sea (1962), and the publication of a few essays on film directing. He was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution and died in 1968. Further Reading: ZDX (1982-6: 1: 338-49), a short biography. b. 1893, Zhejiang province d. June 1966 Director. One of the most prolific film directors in China, Cheng Bugao contributed greatly to the development of Chinese cinema during the 1920s-30s. Like most filmmakers of his generation, Cheng never received any formal training. Before starting to direct in 1924, he studied at Zhendan University in Shanghai and wrote regularly about film for newspapers in the city. The disappointing quality of many early Chinese films encouraged Cheng to try his own hand at filmmaking. Cheng joined Mingxing Film Company in 1928 after releasing three early titles and became one of the studios' major directors. As a humanist, Cheng focused on subject matter that engaged audiences from wide social strata. Some of his better known early titles include Divorce (1928), The Life of the Wealthy (1929), Golden Road (1930), *Spring Silkworm, Wild Torrents (both 1933), To the Northwest (1934) and The Loyal Warriors (1935). Although never a committed leftist himself, Cheng made important contributions to the rise of leftist cinema with a number of films highly critical of contemporary social conditions. Both Wild Torrents and Spring Silkworm are now considered classics of this era. During the post-war period, Cheng became more politically detached. He went to Hong Kong in 1945-9 and directed several purposefully apolitical films. He joined Great Wall Film Company in 1952 and made a few movies before retiring in 1962. Further Reading: B. Cheng (1983), his memoirs of the 1930s. b. 1906, Shanghai d. 1951 Director. Acclaimed as one of the most accomplished of all Chinese directors, Fei Mu spent his childhood in Beijing. After graduating from a French school, Fei worked as an accountant for a mining company in Hebei province. Besides his knowledge of French, Fei was self-taught in English, German, Russian and Italian. Before being hired as chief editor for the information department of North China Film Company in 1930, Fei contributed film reviews to numerous newspapers and journals in Beijing. He also co-published, with Zhu Shilin, a film magazine entitled Hollywood (Haolaiwu). Fei moved to Shanghai in 1932 where Lianhua Film Company offered him a position as director. His critically acclaimed debut, City Night (1933), concerns class tensions between workers and capitalists and exhibits an unmistakable sympathy for the working poor. Following this success, Fei directed Life and A Nun's Love (both 1934). His *Song of China (aka Filial Piety, co-dir. *Luo Mingyou, 1935) glorified traditional family values and was intended to help promote the ideology of the New Life Movement. The film was taken to the USA and re-edited for a limited release. Fei proceeded to Wolf Hunting (1936), a film that deals implicitly with the signs of increasing Japanese aggression against China. Fei's last film, Spring in a Small Town (1948), presents its triangular love story with great conceptual and technical maturity. Many critics consider this film to be one of the best art films produced before 1949, a Chinese equivalent to Citizen Kane (dir. Orson Welles, 1941). Fei suffered from chronicle health problems and had very poor eyesight. He died in 1952, three years after moving to Hong Kong and co-founding Longma Film Company with Zhu Shilin and Fei Luyi. Further Reading: A. Zhang (1987), on Fei Mu's film art. b. 1902, Hong Kong d. 1967, Hong Kong Director, producer. One of the most influential producers of the 1930s, Luo Mingyou was the founder of Lianhua Film Company and owner of a chain of movie theatres throughout China. Luo studied law at the prestigious Beijing University in 1918 and became interested in film. Tired of frequenting the expensive movie houses run by foreigners, Luo decided to manage one himself. In 1919, with the support of his parents and his brother-in-law, Luo renovated a teahouse into a cinema of seven hundred seats. His admission fees were significantly lower than those of rival theaters. Although Luo's movie house was destroyed by fire after only six months in operation, this first taste of business kindled his ambitions. A year later, he re-built the movie house. He gradually expanded his enterprise and took over several theaters owned by foreigners in Beijing and Tianjin. In 1927 Luo formed North China Film Company (Huabei), which came to control most of the *film exhibition and distribution circuits in north China. Dismayed by the poor quality of domestic films and inspired by the arrival of sound, Luo decided to produce movies himself. In 1930, by combining North China with two film studios in Shanghai, he formed Lianhua Film Company. During its heyday, Lianhua had headquarters in Hong Kong, three production studios in Shanghai, and training schools for actors in both Beijing and Shanghai. Along with Mingxing and Tianyi, Lianhua established a solid base for filmmaking in China. The Manchurian Incident of 1931 sent the studio into a downward spiral because it cost Luo his distribution networks in north China, the basis for his production activities in Shanghai. To make matters worse, one of Lianhua's three studios was totally destroyed when the Japanese attacked Shanghai in 1932. Lianhua never recovered from these setbacks. Politically, Luo was loyal to the KMT government and served the regime without reservation. Under Luo's management, Lianhua made Little Angel (dir. *Wu Yonggang) and *Song of China (dir. *Fei Mu, Luo Mingyou, both 1935) in support of the New Life Movement. Lianhua also signed a contract with the KMT government to make *newsreels. Ironically, though, Lianhua also churned out a large number of leftist films, such as *Three Modern Women (dir. *Bu Wancang, 1933), *Big Road (dir. *Sun Yu) and *Goddess (dir. *Wu Yonggang, both 1934). After the war, Luo became a devout Christian and lived in Hong Kong until his death. Further Reading: ZDX (1982-6: 1: 183-90), a short biography. b. 1905 d. 1961 Actor, director. One of the most accomplished directors of the 1940s, Ma-Xu Weibang studied at Shanghai Institute of Arts, where he also taught after graduation. He left the institute in 1924 to take on a number of acting roles at Mingxing Film Company. Although he began directing as early as 1926, Ma-Xu had to wait a decade for his first hit movie. *Singing at Midnight (1937), made for Xinhua Film Company, mixes elements of thriller, mystery and romance into the first Chinese horror film, and its enormous success led to a 1941 sequel. Riding the crest of the wave, Ma-Xu then made two more horror titles, Walking Corpse in an Old House and The Lonely Soul (both 1938). During the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, Ma-Xu was involved in the production of the highly controversial film The Opium War (dir. *Bu Wancang, 1943). He moved to Hong Kong after the war and directed The Haunted House (1949), a film many critics regard as his best. But Ma-Xu quietly disappeared from the film world after directing a remake, Revived Rose (1953). His filmography numbers thirty-three titles. b. 1904, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province d. 19 December 1940 Director, screenwriter. An important director of the 1930s, Shen Xiling studied textile coloring technology before turning to fine arts. In Japan, he took an internship at a theater working as stage designer. Shen returned to China in 1928 and was involved in leftist theater activities. Meanwhile, he also worked as a window dresser after the two art schools he held teaching positions at were shut down by the authorities. In 1931, Shen was offered a job as stage designer by Tianyi Film Company. He wrote his first screenplay, The Protest of Women, but his request to direct the film was turned down by the studio. Shen joined Mingxing Film Company and directed Protest of Women in 1933. His next feature, Twenty-Four Hours in Shanghai (1933), ran into censorship problems with both the foreign concessions and the Nationalist Film Censorship Committee. While the film was eventually passed with several cuts, Shen refused to release the truncated version. The studio, worried about possible financial losses, insisted on screening the film publicly, whereupon Shen decided to quit in protest, only to be persuaded into staying on by friends. During the rest of his tenure at Mingxing, Shen helped produce the box-office hit, *Twin Sisters (dir. *Zheng Zhengqiu, 1934), co-directed The Trouble with Daughters (co-dir. *Zhang Shichuan et al., 1934), and directed three classics of the 1930s: Homesick, *Boatman's Daughter (both 1935) and *Crossroads (1937). Shen eventually left Mingxing and joined Lianhua Film Company in 1937. One of the promises Lianhua made to him was to allow him to direct The True Story of Ah Q, an adaptation of Lu Xun's well-known short story. However, the Sino-Japanese war made the completion of this project impossible. After Shanghai fell in 1938, Shen went to Chongqing, where he was appointed an honorary director by Nationalist Central Film Studio and directed Children of China (1939). Unfortunately, Shen died of typhoid fever in 1940 before he could finish two other projects. Further Reading: ZDX (1982-6: 1: 84-91), a short biography. b. 21 March 1900, Chongqing, Sichuan province d. 11 July 1990 Director. One of the most prominent directors in China during the 1930s-40s, Sun Yu made numerous films considered classics by today's critics. A graduate of Qinghua University, Sun went on to study drama at the University of Wisconsin with the financial support of the Boxer Funds. He later studied film writing and directing at Columbia University, as well as cinematography, film developing and editing at New York University. He returned to China in 1926 and directed his first film, A Romantic Swordsman (1929), for Minxin Film Company. As one of the four pillar directors at Lianhua Film Company in the 1930s, Sun made a great contribution by introducing new approaches to filmmaking. Partly through his efforts, Chinese films attained an unprecedented level of artistic success. Sun's first two Lianhua titles, Memories of the Old Capital and *Wild Flower (both 1930), established his reputation as a socially conscious artist. He became so associated with other leftist filmmakers that the messages in his films seem indistinguishable from the political positions advocated by underground Communists at the time. For instance, Wild Rose (1932) contains unmistakable anti-Japanese themes, Revenge by the Volcano (1932) calls for open revolt against the oppressors, Daybreak (1932) presents revolution as the only hope for the working classes, and both *Little Toys (1933) and *Big Road (1934) direct attention to the impending national crisis. After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war, Sun moved to Chongqing, where he directed The Sky Rider (1940), a war film about the Chinese air force, and A Bloody Lesson (1941), the story of a traitor who changes his mind after witnessing Japanese atrocities. Sun visited the USA in the post-war period, and upon returning to China, began work on a film biography called The Life of Wu Xun (1950). In 1951, after Mao Zedong personally wrote an article denouncing the film, Sun was devastated by widespread criticism. During the next four decades, Sun directed or co-directed only three more titles, none of which could match the artistic quality of his pre-1949 work. Further Reading: C. Berry 1988c), a psychoanalytic study of Big Road; C. Li (1991), a survey of Sun's early film career; Y. Sun (1987), a memoir; ZDX (1982-6: 2: 81-7), a short biography; Y. Zhang (1994a), with analysis of Wild Flower. b. 1 November 1907, Jiangsu province d. 18 December 1982 Director. A famous director of the 1930s, Wu Yonggang began working with film at the age of nineteen. His father did not think highly of the medium and encouraged him to study fine arts at the Commercial Press. However, Wu found employment at Lily (Baihe) Film Company and was soon discovered by *Shi Dongshan, who promoted him to stage designer. Wu's directing debut, *Goddess (1934), a Lianhua Film Company production, was well received by both critics and audiences. He next directed Little Angel (1935), which was based on a prize-winning screenplay. Although his name is often associated with leftist films, Wu was a socially conscious artist in broader terms. In The Desert Island (1936), for example, Wu searched for a common humanism that could unite people, and he lamented the divisions brought about by class consciousness. Yet when it came to foreign encroachments against China, Wu was a staunch nationalist. In the patriotic The Pioneers (1936), Wu advocated unity among the Chinese and armed resistance against foreign invaders. Wu's films became more diverse during the period 1937-41. There were entertaining *action flicks, *costume dramas and romantic tearjerkers. Eventually, Wu went to Chongqing, where he worked for Nationalist Central Film Studio and began to film The Path to National Reconstruction. However, the project ran into problems. First, the original female lead, *Hu Die, had to be replaced because of Hu's entangled relationship with Dai Li, head of the Nationalist secret police. Then the crew became caught up in a Japanese bombing raid during location shooting and lost most of its footage and equipment. The project was finally aborted. After the war, Wu directed several noteworthy films, including Loyal Family (1946) and A Decision of Life Time (1947). He also founded Daye Film Company and produced Waiting for Spring (1947). During the 1950s Wu directed three films: The Far Away Village (1950) deals with land reform, Hasen and Jiamila (1952) tackles issues of ethnicity, and Qiu Meets Goddess of Flowers (1956) is a fairy tale. In 1957, Wu wrote an essay criticizing the party's excessive control over the film industry. He was labelled a Rightist and deprived of any opportunity to direct more films. (He was not able to make another film until 1962). Wu made two popular, politically 'safe' opera movies. In the post-Cultural Revolution period, he directed the highly acclaimed *Night Rain on the River (co-dir. *Wu Yigong, 1980), which won Best Film at 1981 China GRA. Wu Yonggang then retired from filmmaking. Further Reading: W. Rothman (1993), an analysis of Goddess; Y. Wu (1986), a memoir; ZDX (1982-6: 2: 156-63), a short biography. b. 3 March 1909, Ningbo, Zhejiang province d. 30 January 1978 Actor, screenwriter, director. A talented filmmaker of the 1930s-40s, Yuan Muzhi became involved in *theater while still at high school. During his college years, he played the lead role in a Chinese stage adaptation of Chekov's Uncle Vanya. In 1930, Yuan was drawn into the leftist theater movement. However, his parents' disapproval of his involvement in theater, together with their active interference of his work, served to estrange Yuan from his family. Yuan joined Diantong Film Company, a centre of the leftist film movement, in 1934. He wrote and starred in *Plunder of Peach and Plum (dir. Ying Yunwei, 1934), which deals with the widespread problem of unemployment and is highly critical of social conditions in the 1930s. Yuan also starred in another Diantong production, Children of Troubled Times (dir. Xu Xingzhi, 1935). In 1935, he wrote and directed Cityscape (1935), a *musical focusing on the dark side of *urban life. Yuan joined Mingxing Film Company after Diantong was shut down because of its leftist orientation. He starred in Hearts United (dir. Ying Yunwei, 1936), then scripted and directed *Street Angels (1937), one of the best-known films of the 1930s. During the Sino-Japanese war, Yuan appeared in Eight Hundred Heroic Soldiers (dir. Ying Yunwei, 1938) before leaving for Yanan. In 1940, Yuan joined the CCP and was sent to the Soviet Union. In the post-war period, Yuan played a major role in the CCP take-over of Manchurian Motion Pictures. Northeast Film Studio was established under his leadership in 1946. After 1949, Yuan left his post as Northeast Studio's manager and was appointed chief director of the Film Bureau under the Ministry of Culture. Further Reading: ZDX (1982-6: 1: 278-88), a short biography. b. 1 January 1890, Ningbo, Zhejiang province d. 8 July 1954 Director, producer. One of the founding fathers of Chinese cinema, Zhang used to work as a compradore for an advertising agency. In 1913, two Americans formed Asia Film Company and asked Zhang to be their advisor. Zhang took over all work responsibilities for the company instead. Though having little experience in filmmaking, he enlisted *Zheng Zhengqiu, a famous dramatist of the time, and together they made the first Chinese short feature, The Difficult Couple (1913). After finishing the film, Zhang formed Huanxian Film Company (Fantasy) in 1916 and directed Wronged Ghosts in Opium Den (1916). In 1922, Zhang co-founded Mingxing Film Company with his friends Zhou Jianyun and Zheng Zhengqiu. A shrewd businessman primarily concerned with profit, Zhang differed from Zheng, who viewed cinema as a vehicle for social reform. If their didactic films like *Orphan Rescues Grandfather (1923) could become box-office hits, Zhang didn't have a problem with repeating the formula. But when his martial arts film The Burning of Red Lotus Temple (1928) sold well, Zhang rushed to make sequel after sequel. In the early 1930s, increasing Japanese aggression against China produced a sense of national crisis. Under Zhang's management, Mingxing hired a group of leftist writers to work for its script department. As a result, the studio produced a large number of leftist films. The Mingxing studio site was destroyed by a Japanese bombardment during the 1932 battle of Shanghai. While Zhang managed to rescue some equipment and film stock, he was never again able to revive Mingxing's former glory. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Japanese took Shanghai over and incorporated all of the city's major film studios into the United Artist Film Company. Zhang served as a branch manager as well as director of the production department, duties that led to charges of treason after Japan surrendered in 1945. Although not officially indicted, Zhang never recovered from the resulting public humiliation. He died in 1953 age sixty-four. Further Reading: X. He (1982), on Zhang and Mingxing; ZDX (1982-6: 1: 222-30), a short biography. b. 25 January 1889, Shanghai d. 16 July 1935, Shanghai Screen writer, director, playwright. One of the founding fathers of Chinese cinema, Zheng Zhengqiu was an influential figure in *theater and wrote theatrical reviews for major newspapers. In 1913, his friend *Zhang Shichun joined Asia Film Company and asked him to be his partner. Together they made China's first short feature, *The Difficult Couple (dir. Zhang Shichuan, 1913), a film highly critical of the practice of arranged marriage. However, Asia Film Company dissolved soon after the film was completed, and the two did not work together again until 1922, when Zhang organized Mingxing Film Company. Besides writing and directing, Zheng also served as assistant manager of the studio and was in charge of training company employees. Zheng always believed that film should be socially conscious and morally uplifting. Between 1923 and 1930 he wrote and directed a total of fifty-three titles. Among the best known are Cheng the Fruit Seller (1922), Orphan Rescues Grandfather (1923, both dir. Zhang Shichuan), Little Darling (1926), My Fair Lady (1927), The White Cloud Pagoda (1928), Flower of Freedom (1932) and *Twin Sisters (1933). One consistent theme in all these films is the plight of the poor and powerless. Zheng once commented on his films, 'To seek justice on behalf of the weak has always been my philosophy. In my films I have always tried to find a position from which I can speak for the poor'. Indeed, many of his films denounce the moral corruption of those in power. For instance, his most important title of the 1930s, Twin Sisters, contrasts the lives of two sisters: while the one married to a wealthy warlord is mean and cruel, the one who works as a maid to support her husband and child is kind and loving. This critical thrust in Zheng's films mirrored the ideological orientation of the 1930s leftists. Zheng suffered from chronic illness, a condition only exacerbated by his manic work rate. When he died in 1935, both the leftist filmmakers and the KMT officials felt a deep sense of loss. In death as in life, Zheng Zhenqiu transcended political differences. Further Reading: C. Tang (1992ab), two studies of Zheng Zhengqiu; ZDX (1982-6: 1: 202-9), a short biography; Z. Zhang (1999), on Cheng the Fruit Seller. |
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